Before Christmas I wrote a post on the process of hallmarking and how and why you would send your work for hallmarking. To read this post click here.

My Silver SpoonSilver Spoon, showing hallmark

I borrowed a silver spoon that my dad bought recently so I could write a post on how you go about reading a hallmark. You can see from the photo above this spoon has a clearly stamped hallmark. Although the makers mark is more faint as harder to read.

Hallmark, close up

The first thing to do when reading a hallmark is to find out at which assay office it was hallmarked. I know from looking at this that it was hallmarked in Dublin because of the mark with the harp and crown. This mark is known as the mark of origin and is different for every assay office. While Dublin has the symbol of the harp and crown, Birmingham uses an anchor symbol and Edinburgh a castle. The Irish assay office no longer uses this, now we’re gone all European and just use the Hibernia mark and a metal fineness mark.

Irish Hallmarks

The second mark on this spoon is the mark of Hibernia. This mark was introduced by the Dublin assay office in 1731 so at least I know from this that the spoon was made after that year. This mark is still stamped on all silver hallmarked in Ireland.

There can also be a fourth mark which is the date letter. This letter changes every year and has a different font and shape every cycle. For example the shape of the date letter can change from a shield (1871-1895) to a rectangle (1896-1915) The cycle can run from twenty four to twenty six years, from A to Z but sometimes they leave out letters. I have no idea why, but let me know if you do!

This spoon doesn’t have a date letter so I will have to use the other marks to give me a rough idea as to when it was hallmarked. One of the ways to do this is through the makers mark. If I can find out who ‘B.T’ is and when he/she was registered with the Dublin assay office I can find out in what period the spoon was made.

I found a great website that lists some makers registered to the Dublin assay office. Click here to see it. From this website I found out the ‘B.T.’ that made my spoon was Benjamin Tait. They list the year 1790 beside his name but it doesn’t give the date range when he was registered. So off I went on a google ing frenzy to find out all I could about Benjamin Tait. Unfortunately I couldn’t find out much about Mr Tait so back I went to my book of hallmarks to see the Dublin marks for that period.

Dublin Hallmarks

It turns out that the 1790 harp and hibernia marks were in ovals unlike in my spoon where they are rectangular. They remained rectangular from 1793 to 1809 so I can deduce from this that my spoon was hallmarked during this period.

So that’s my guide to reading a hallmark. From those three little stamps I found out that the spoon was made by Benjamin Tait between 1793 and 1809 and was hallmarked in Dublin Castle.

I went looking up the phrase ‘born with a silver spoon in his mouth’ partly I’m exploring all things silver, but also because we welcomed a new nephew last week (not that he was born with a Silver spoon!)

It is defined as “opportunities that you did not earn but that you have from the influence of your family”

Etymology: from the idea that silver spoons were given at the birth of wealthy children

Like most children of the 80’s I associate silver spoons with Ricky Schroder living it up in the TV sitcom ‘Silver Spoons’. So even from a young age I knew a silver spoon had something to do with inherited wealth because they had a huge toy train set running through their house!

Ricky Schroder, Silver Spoons

I was thinking, if the phrase is to denote being born into wealth why not say born with a gold spoon as it is of higher value.

Anyway it turns out that it is more the properties of silver than its value that have lead to the saying. Beyond their value and beauty silver cutlery self-sanitizes as silver is a natural anti-biotic. I knew it had been used for dressings for wounds and burns to prevent against infection but it seems it has other properties which have been utilized for centuries.

Silver was used by royal and wealthy families to detect poison. In the Korean Joseon Dynasty this was used to great effect to protect the heir to the throne. During this Dynasty the king would have a number of wives all vying for their sons to inherit the throne. Usually the first born would inherit everything so the queens would attempt to poison his food so their sons might succeed him. The silver spoon would tarnish when it came into contact with sulphur which is present in arsenic. Therefore protecting the king from his ambitious family!

One of the great silversmith websites I keep coming back to is the Contemporary British Silversmiths which is setup by the association of the same name. Membership is on a selection basis so the standard of work on display is very high.

Most of the work is functional and decorative tableware but they also have a sculptural section that’s worth a look. There is such a great selection of work, it shows how successful the colleges in Britain are at turning out highly skilled silversmith graduates. Since the apprenticeship route is all but gone in Ireland it would be great to see art colleges here establishing silversmithing departments. There are some art colleges like NCAD that have craft design degree courses. Also, the Crafts Council have a jewellery course in Kilkenny which has been great for jewellery design in Ireland. As far as I know the closest place to study as a silversmith is Belfast. Please tell me if I’ve overlooked somewhere.

If it were up to me I’d love to set up a silversmithing department where students would acquire skills from early silversmithing, modern advances in metalwork and everything in between. There are so many processes that you don’t get the opportunity to explore when you’re in a commercial work environment. It would be great to have at least a little knowledge of these before you head out into the world.

When a student leaves college they usually can’t afford machinery like spinning lathes and micro welders. Wouldn’t it be great to equip them with these skills while they are still in college where they can practice for free?

There should also be a history of silversmithing and design module. I think your work is strengthened by your ability to write about it, drawing references from other artists.When you do this, I think you learn more about your inspiration and where this will take your work in the future.

Most art colleges now provide a business module whereby students learn about setting up their own business or how to submit proposals for commissions. The best students in college don’t always go on to become the most successful business people.

Silversmiths who can make amazing pieces in silver often have difficulty relaying these ideas in their sketches. It would be really beneficial for people who do not have a natural aptitude for drawing to learn simple draftsman skills.

Finally.. problem solving! I know most professions spend days banging their heads on brick walls. Sometimes, working in silver, you spend ages picking apart the design for potential pitfalls, and still, you end up cutting out your silver only to discover you never allowed for something. While this mostly happens on a new piece you haven’t made before, I think you could equip students with the skills to preempt these pitfalls.

Anyway just a few suggestions for my Eileen Moylan Academy of Silversmithery!

About

Jewellery Designer based in Cork, Ireland. Since finishing my Masters in design over ten years ago, I have worked as a Silver & Goldsmith creating unique jewellery, Wedding & Engagement Rings and Sculptural commissions. Read more about what I do here.